The Turbulent Reunion
by ChoCedric
Summary: Harry and Ginny meet in the Gryffindor common room after the war. What Harry doesn't realize is the depth of Ginny's hurt and betrayal. Can she learn to trust him again after he let her believe he was dead?


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

The Turbulent Reunion

By: ChoCedric

Exhaustion overwhelmed Harry as he, in his Invisibility Cloak, slowly made his way back to the Gryffindor common room from the Great Hall. It was all over. All the fighting, all the bloodshed, and all the warfare was over. All everyone could do now was start picking up the pieces and rebuild their lives again.

But it would be a hard thing, Harry knew, to get past all the grief from the losses they'd all been through. Fred Weasley, who he considered one of his brothers, was dead, along with Remus and Tonks. It was devastating, because they'd just had a son, and now Teddy Lupin would have to grow up as an orphan just like Harry had. But Harry vowed that he would give Teddy a wonderful childhood, unlike the one he had suffered.

Once he had climbed into the common room, he simply looked around the place, admiring the décor. It had been so long since he'd been here, and seeing everything again brought a flood of emotions back. He remembered when days were simple, when all he'd had to worry about was Quidditch and homework. But things were very, very different now.

Suddenly, the portrait hole opened again, and in climbed the person that Harry's heart had ached to see for months and months. Even though she was bloody and was cut up, Ginny Weasley looked as beautiful after battle as she always did. Her face was tear-streaked, and even though it made him uncomfortable, Harry wanted to soothe her.

But as soon as Ginny saw him, a furious expression appeared on her face. Harry felt a sinking feeling swoop through him; he'd expected Ginny to run to him, to fling her arms around him, for that's what it looked like she had wanted to do in the Room of Requirement, but had restrained herself. But now, she was giving him her fiercest glare, tears sparkling in her eyes.

"Gin?" Harry said softly, knowing that for some reason, the girl he loved was angry with him.

"What do you want, Harry?" Ginny asked in a low, dangerous voice.

"Gin, what's wrong?" Harry asked gently, going over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

To his surprise, however, Ginny violently thrust his hand off her. "Don't touch me," she whispered.

"Why not?" asked Harry confusedly.

At this, Ginny's temper burst free. "You want to know why not?" she screamed, her cheeks turning as red as her hair. She put out her hands and started beating on his chest, trying to choke back sobs. "How dare you!" she howled. "How dare you, Harry Potter! How dare you!"

"Wha ..." Harry asked in total bewilderment.

"You lied to me!" Ginny yelled, tears streaming down her red face. "I know you don't like to see girls cry, Harry, but tough luck! My brother is dead, and you lied to me! You made me believe you were dead too!"

"I'm sorry," said Harry, his heart breaking. He now knew why Ginny was so furious with him. "I had to, Ginny, there was no other way ..."

"Bullshit!" Ginny snarled. "Did you know that I've been haunted by the image of your dead body all freaking year, and then I had to see it for real? Do you know what that did to me?"

"I'm sorry, Gin!" Harry exclaimed, feeling his heart sink even further. "I didn't mean to scare you, but ..."

"You were planning to die, though, weren't you?" asked Ginny, her voice becoming low and dangerous again. "You went out there, into the forest, planning to die, without even saying goodbye!"

"Gin, I couldn't have said goodbye," said Harry, beginning to get a little frustrated that she wasn't understanding the bigger picture. "If I'd've stopped to see you, I wouldn't have been able to go through with it."

"But you stopped to talk to Neville, didn't you?" Ginny spat through her sobs. "But you wouldn't talk to me! You supposedly love me, but you didn't even stop to tell me what you were about to do!'

"Ginny, it was the only way Voldemort could be defeated!" If you could just let me explain, I'll tell you everything."

"Harry, I'm not ready to hear it," replied Ginny, glaring at him fiercely. "I don't even want to talk to you right now. You've spent an entire year away from me, without even one stinking letter! And then you act like I'm some stupid little girl who can't do anything herself! You know what, Harry? I'm damn sick of being coddled! I'm not just some fragile little weakling who's going to break like glass!"

"I know you're not!" Harry shouted, feeling his own temper rise. "And it was impossible to write to you, you know that!"

Ginny yelled over him. "And you didn't even come to console who you consider family when Fred died!" she shrieked. "You just passed us by like it was nothing! Do you not care?"

"How dare you!" Harry snarled, clenching his fists. "I care too much, that's the trouble! Do you think I wanted to go over there and see your family when I know Fred's death is my stinking fault? If only I'd given myself up earlier, this would never have happened!"

At this, all the anger inside Ginny seemed to evaporate, and she collapsed into a chair. Harry sat down next to her, his own anger ebbing away, leaving him feeling empty and exhausted.

"Listen, Harry," Ginny said softly. "Fred's death was not your fault. Nothing could have stopped him from fighting with you, for you. He fought to make this world a better place for us to live in. He died a hero, Hary." Tears kept falling from her beautiful brown eyes.

Harry hated to see girls cry, but he was determined not to make the same mistake he'd made all that time ago with Cho. He got up and kneeled in front of her, putting his arms around her. He expected Ginny to push him away, but surprisingly, she leaned into the embrace, and all the tears of grief and loss poured down her face like rivers. She mumbled broken words through her sobs, and Harry was only able to catch a few of them. "Sorry ... shouldn't have ... yelled at you ... Fred ... Voldemort ... your dead body ... Hagrid ... Forbidden Forest ..."

"Shhhhhh, Ginny, everything's going to be all right," Harry soothed, although at this moment he was having a hard time believing it. He rubbed circles on her back, and stroked her fiery red hair.

Once her tears had subsided, she said slowly, "Okay, Harry. I think I'm ready to hear about everything now, if you want to tell me. If you don't, that's okay."

"I'll tell you," said Harry quietly. "And I'm sorry Hogwarts was such hell for you. If only I'd known it would be so dangerous, I would have taken you with me. But you wouldn't have been safe there either."

"I know, Harry, I know," Ginny said softly, snuggling into him. "But tell you what. I'll tell you about my year, too, if you want."

"Okay," Harry answered.

For the next few hours, they filled each other in on what had happened during their year apart. They were both shocked to discover the true horrors of what each had been through, and they lay in each other's arms, hands intertwined. It had been a turbulent reunion, but Harry hoped with all his heart that Ginny would come to trust him again.

"I confess," she said, "That it's going to take me a while to forgive you. As of right now, I really don't trust you, Harry."

"I know," Harry sighed, his heart aching. "But I'll do everything I can to earn that trust. again"

Ginny squeezed his hand gently. "I know," she admitted.

An hour later, the Weasleys came up to the common room to find Harry and Ginny on the chairs, sleeping. Mrs. Weasley smiled softly at her daughter and the boy she considered a son, and George even cracked a small smile. Everyone knew that the wounds of the war were deep, but they would heal in time. They hoped that Harry and Ginny were strong enough to endure the turmoil of the funerals and memorials ahead.

"Reckon Harry'll propose in a few years?" asked Bill, grinning a little.

"Reckon so," said Charlie softly, looking at the peaceful expressions on the couple's faces. "Reckon so."

The End

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